Maple Leafs, Senators Recall Goalies
It’s a good thing that the Maple Leafs’ AHL affiliate is also based in Toronto.
The team has demoted Jhonas Enroth and recalled Antoine Bibeau, according to TSN’s Kristen Shilton. This is the second time the team has swapped the two goaltenders in four days, and the third time this month. Because he has not spent 30 days on an NHL roster since clearing waivers, Enroth does not need to go through waivers to be sent down.
Shilton believes Bibeau will get the start in one of the Maple Leafs’ upcoming back-to-back against Colorado and Arizona. Bibeau has appeared in just one NHL game earlier this month against Colorado. The Maple Leafs lost 3-1 as Bibeau made 26 saves on 28 shots. He appeared in two AHL games in his most recent stint there, going 1-1-0.
Moving northeast, the Senators have recalled goaltender Matt O’Connor on an emergency basis, as Andrew Hammond is unable to backup for Mike Condon for tonight’s game versus the Chicago Blackhawks. O’Connor was a highly sought-after prospect goaltender following his time at Boston University, but he’s struggled to find his form since turning pro. He’s appeared in just one NHL game; O’Connor started for the Senators opposite his new crease-mate in Condon, when the latter was with the Canadiens last season.
Hammond injured his ankle on Sunday night, and has appeared in just three games so far this season as he battles different injuries. The Senators’ regular number one Craig Anderson is with his wife while she undergoes cancer treatment and is not expected to re-join the team before Christmas.
Evening Snapshots: Spectacular Sophomores, Hartman
- The Hockey News’ Jared Clinton makes his case for five players who avoided the dreaded sophomore slump this season. At the top of his list is Edmonton’s Connor McDavid, who Clinton writes is the reason for the Oilers’ turnaround this season. Had it not been for the clavicle injury last season, McDavid would have had one of the best back-to-back seasons that rivaled Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin. Next is the Blackhawks’ Artemi Panarin, who Clinton believes the Hawks have to absolutely re-sign at all costs. That would certainly cause some financial posturing, but he believes Panarin to be a devastating personnel loss should he go elsewhere. The Winnipeg Jets’ Nikolaj Ehlers, the Hurricanes’ Jaccob Slavin, and the Blues’ Colton Parayko round out Clinton’s top five.
- The Blackhawks have been on a tear lately and rookie Ryan Hartman has been one of the brightest spots for Chicago. Chris Hine writes that the young forward has learned quite a bit about being more patient on the ice and not corralling penalties as he would have in the past. Hine describes him as an irritant, there’s a reason for Hartman’s change of play:
“You have an opportunity to play in the NHL and be in the lineup every night. If you’re going to take penalties and do that kind of stuff, you’re not going to be in the lineup for long,” Hartman said. “I just try to stay out of the box as much as possible, and it related to me being on the ice more.”
Drawing penalties instead of causing them has been a boon for the Hawks and the young forward. He’s also shown a knack for scoring timely goals. Hartman notched the winner against San Jose on Sunday night and already has six on the season. Playing for a coach known to favor veterans, Hartman is making the most of his chance and certainly justifying his playing time from Joel Quenneville.
Rick Nash Injured (Again)
New York Rangers forward Rick Nash re-injured his groin and will be out for an undetermined amount of time, reports the New York Post’s Larry Brooks. Nash had just returned from a previous groin injury suffered on December 6th. Nash lasted three games in his return before injuring the other side of his groin.
Nash has 13G and 7A in 30 games for the Rangers, including 2G in 3 games after returning from his first groin injury. While the Rangers appreciate Nash’s goal-scoring prowess, the team has been getting scoring by committee so far as six players have 20 or more points. The Rangers should be able to weather Nash’s absence in the short term.
Depending on the injury’s severity, Nash may only miss two or three games. The Rangers play on December 20th (against the Pittsburgh Penguins) and 23rd (against the Minnesota Wild), but then not again until the 27th (against the Ottawa Senators). The NHL observes the holidays and does not play games from December 24th through the 26th.
Snapshots: Crawford, Tavares, Lucic
The Chicago Blackhawks could be getting a nice early Christmas gift on Friday night.
Despite having an appendectomy just two weeks ago, Corey Crawford has progressed enough in his recovery that he may start on Friday night against the Colorado Avalanche. Coach Joel Quenneville told Chris Hine that he would like to see Crawford get in a full practice before returning to the lineup.
The Blackhawks are off on Monday after playing back-to-back on the weekend, however Crawford will skate on his own. Backup Scott Darling has played the majority of games since Crawford has been out, including both games over the weekend. Darling is 6-2-1 since taking over from Crawford, which includes his current five-game winning streak.
- Glen Schiller and Jamie McLennan on TSN’s That’s Hockey 2Nite discussed if there is any reason why John Tavares would want to re-sign with the Islanders. The Islanders have been “a mess” this year, following up a 100-point season with a 74-point pace. With the Metropolitan Division being the best division in hockey this year, there’s essentially no way the Islanders can climb back into the playoff picture without a 15-game winning streak. McLennan points to the free agency departure of Kyle Okposo, who had great chemistry with Tavares, and the struggles of his replacement, Andrew Ladd. Both players signed for similar contracts, but the Islanders chose the older player with no history with their superstar over the younger, right-handed player with years of success on Tavares’ wing. Tavares, McLennan argues, must be wondering who he would play with consistently and could look forward to playing with years from now if he signed an eight-year contract.
- Over at OilersNation, Jonathan Willis wonders why the Oilers have not tried separating Milan Lucic and Connor McDavid to boost McDavid’s scoring. While he’s still leading the NHL in scoring by two points with 39 points in 33 games, he has just one even-strength assist in his last eight games. Lucic has just one goal in nine games this month. Despite Lucic’s struggles, the only changes made on the top line have been on the right side. Jesse Puljujärvi, Drake Caggiula, Jordan Eberle, Tyler Pitlick, and Leon Draisaitl have all had time with Lucic and McDavid, with varying degrees of success. Willis suggests moving Lucic to play with Draisaitl on the second line and bumping one of Benoit Pouliot or Patrick Maroon up to the top line; Willis points to chemistry between Draisaitl and Lucic and the dramatically better scoring numbers of when playing with McDavid as evidence of the merit of his suggestion.
P.K. Subban Not Travelling With Predators
After missing Saturday night’s shootout loss against the New York Rangers, P.K. Subban did not accompany the Nashville Predators on their upcoming two-game road trip, according to Adam Vingan of The Tennessean.
Subban is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Saturday was the first game that Subban missed as a member of the Predators. Subban has seven goals and 17 points in 29 games so far this season.
GM David Poile recalled Adam Pardy from the Milwaukee Admirals to replace Subban on the roster. Pardy has appeared in one game with the Predators this season. He split last season between the Winnipeg Jets and Edmonton Oilers, posting four assists in 23 games. Based on Vingan’s report, the Predators’ defense is as follows:
Josi-Ellis
Ekholm-Granberg
Irwin-Weber
Pardy
Nashville plays in Philadelphia on Monday night and New Jersey on Tuesday night. Subban may be able to join the team in New Jersey, but it’s not known how serious the injury is. The Predators have struggle of late, losing seven of 10 and falling out of a playoff spot to sixth in the Central Division.
Monday Morning Recalls And Demotions
10:23am: TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that Mike Babcock announced that Tyler Bozak and Ben Smith are both considered day-to-day with a lower-body injury and an upper-body injury respectively.
In Nashville, the Predators have recalled defenseman Adam Pardy from the AHL, as P.K. Subban will be out of the lineup. Subban did not accompany the Predators on their current two-game road trip.
9:53am: A couple Ontario-based NHL teams have made roster moves on Monday morning.
The Ottawa Senators have assigned Casey Bailey and Ben Harpur to the Binghamton Senators of the AHL, according to Bruce Garrioch. The right-winger Bailey was held pointless in two games with the Senators, but has 14 points in 25 games with the AHL’s Senators. Harper appeared in one game and was also held pointless. The defenseman has three assists in 20 AHL games this season. Garrioch reports that the demotions were made because Fredrik Claesson is ready to return after suffering a lower-body injury earlier this month.
The Senators are not skating on Monday, so it’s not yet known how severe Andrew Hammond‘s injury is. Hammond left Sunday night’s game just 16 minutes in with an apparent ankle injury. Should the Hamburglar be unable to go, Garrioch suggests that Matt O’Connor would get the call. Starting goaltender Craig Anderson is away from the team to be with his wife Nicholle, and is not expected back before Christmas.
Over to Toronto, where the Maple Leafs have announced the recall of center Frederik Gauthier. In a related move, injured defenseman Martin Marincin has been placed on injured reserve. Marincin is expected to be out for four-to-six weeks after sustaining a lower-body injury last week. Gauthier has four points in 16 games with the Toronto Marlies of the AHL. The Athletic’s David Alter reports Gauthier is centering the fourth line at practice on Monday morning.
Komarov-Kadri-Soshnikov
JVR-Nylander-Marner
Hyman-Matthews-Brown
Martin-Gauthier-Leivo
The Maple Leafs are without three regulars at practice this morning; defenseman Jake Gardiner, Tyler Bozak and Ben Smith were all missing, so Alter wonders if that explains Gauthier’s recall. Much-scratched defenseman Frankie Corrado was bounced between pairings throughout practice but will be in the lineup when the Maple Leafs host former coach Randy Carlyle and the Anaheim Ducks on Monday night.
Central Division Notes: Avalanche, Duchene, Haula, Dalpe
The Colorado Avalanche rank among the biggest disappointments this season in the NHL. With a talented roster and a new coach hired to implement a system that plays to the team’s strengths, it was expected the Avalanche would at least contend as a dark horse in the playoff race. Instead they currently boast the league’s worst record and appear well on their way to a lottery pick next June.
The easy assumption is that Colorado’s core group of players is flawed and that drastic changes need to be made. But is that assumption accurate? Terry Frei of The Denver Post recently examined and dispelled three “off-target reactions” about the Avalanche at this point in the season.
It’s clear base on the moves made and not made this past summer that Joe Sakic believed his core group was good enough to contend. Instead of making a blockbuster trade, Sakic dabbled around the edges of the roster, adding some depth on the blue line in the form of Patrick Wiercioch and Fedor Tyutin and bringing in Joe Colborne up front. Roughly 30 games into the season and it’s obvious something more needed to be done.
However, as Frei opines, the problem isn’t just with the core or with the complementary pieces on the roster; in fact the whole roster is flawed.
Next Frei addresses ownership and notes that Stan Kroenke and Co. do two things all NHL owners should do: They stay out of the way allowing management run the team and they spend nearly to the salary cap ceiling. Whether the hands-off approach by ownership is intended or is a result of having other priorities is irrelevant as ownership is blameless in this case, argues Frei.
Finally, it’s been said that allowing Paul Stastny to leave as a free agent for nothing and then dealing Ryan O’Reilly to Buffalo once Colorado concluded they couldn’t re-sign him were mistakes the team shouldn’t have made. However, Frei makes the case that each of those choices were made as part of a larger strategy to implement a salary structure a mid-market franchise can survive with in today’s NHL.
It’s an interesting read and provides terrific insight into the mess that is the Colorado Avalanche.
Elsewhere in the Central Division:
- Hockey Prospectus’ Matthew Coller pushes the argument that the Avalanche need to embrace a rebuild, even if that means trading away Matt Duchene or Gabriel Landeskog. While acknowledging the high-end talents of Duchene and fellow pivot Nathan MacKinnon, Coller believes the team desperately needs a strong, two-way center to match up against the other team’s top lines. Of course they had a guy like that in O’Reilly, as Coller notes, but what’s done is done. If they do finish at the bottom of the league’s standings, the Avalanche would ensure themselves of one of the top overall players in the June entry draft which could fast forward a rebuild. And if Sakic can make a couple of good trades, it may not take as long as expected to build a contender.
- While the Minnesota Wild extended their winning streak to seven games with a victory over Arizona last night, the win didn’t come without a cost. Forward Erik Haula left the game early in the first period with what was termed as an upper-body injury and did not return, according to Michael Russo of the Star Tribune. Haula has been a solid contributor this season for the Wild, posting five goals and ten points in 23 games while averaging a career-best 14:13 of ice time per game. Meanwhile, Zac Dalpe was cleared to return from injury and was assigned to Iowa of the AHL. Russo states that he is a good bet to be recalled for next Tuesday’s game should Haula not be able to go.
Erik Gudbranson Set To Undergo Wrist Surgery
Vacouver Canucks defensmeman Erik Gudbranson is to undergo surgery on his wrist to repair ligament damage, according to a release on the team’s website. A recovery timeline will be available once the surgery is completed. Canucks GM Jim Benning made the announcement earlier today:
“Erik suffered ligament damage to his wrist this season that has affected his wrist function,” said Benning. “Continued treatment and rehabilitation have not improved his condition and Erik and our Canucks medical team believe that surgery offers the best long-term outcome and are confident in a full recovery. Erik’s leadership qualities and strong physical presence will be missed but this is a decision that best supports a long, productive and healthy career.”
Evidently the injury has plagued Gudbranson for at least part of the season based on Benning’s comments. Gudbranson has one goal and six points in 30 games with Vancouver this season. He was acquired in the summer from Florida along with a fifth-round choice in exchange for forward Jared McCann, a second-round draft choice and a fourth-rounder.
Pacific Division Notes: Brown, Gaborik, Bieksa
Former Los Angeles Kings team captain Dustin Brown was scratched from this afternoon’s road contest in Boston. According to Jon Rosen of L.A. Kings Insider, Brown is battling an upper-body injury and is listed as day-to-day.
Brown, who was stripped of the captaincy and replaced by Anze Kopitar this last summer, has had a moderate bounce-back campaign after the worst season of his career in 2015-16. Through 30 games Brown has contributed 14 points to the Kings attack and he’s already halfway to his points total from last year when he tallied 28 in 82 games. He is a five-time 20-goal scorer and netted 18 in the strike-shortened 2012-13 season.
With the expansion lurking around the corner, it’s been wondered whether the Vegas Golden Knights would gamble and take Brown, who is almost assuredly going to be left exposed by the Kings. While he is still capable of playing a physical role on a team’s third-line and obviously would provide the new franchise with veteran leadship, Brown has another five seasons left on his pact with an AAV of $5.875MM. Some have suggested the price tag would simply be too high for Vegas but if the Kings were willing to retain salary then it’s at least feasible the two sides could work out a trade following the expansion draft.
Elsewhere in the Pacific Division on this Sunday:
- Rosen also pointed out that it appeared right wing Marian Gaborik would be a healthy scratch today for the Kings based on what he saw at this morning’s warm-ups. That premise was confirmed by Helene Elliott of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). Gaborik, who has been prone to injuries throughout his career, has missed all but nine games this season after hurting his foot while representing Team Europe in the recent World Cup of Hockey. He has potted just a single goal to go along with three helpers in those nine appearances and it could be that Kings head coach Darryl Sutter is growing impatient waiting for the Slovakian sniper to find his offensive game. Gaboriak is averaging just 14:28 of ice time per game, a rate that is 3 1/2 minutes below his career average. Like Brown, Gaborik is in the midst of an expensive, long-term contract that has four seasons remaining beyond 2016-17, and comes with a cap charge of $4.875MM.
- Kevin Bieksa has spent the vast majority of his 11-year career as a reliable, two-way top-four blue liner. Now in his second season with Anaheim, the 35-year-old Bieksa is averaging less than 20 minutes of ice time per game for the first time since his 39-game debut campaign in 2005-06 while with Vancouver. As Eric Stephens of The Orange County Register writes, Bieksa is not only adjusting to a lesser role but he is adapting his playing style to mask the fact he is no longer a player in his prime. Ducks head coach Randy Carlyle has encouraged the veteran blue liner to embrace the adjustments: “I think every player has to become somewhat of a chameleon,” Carlyle said. “You have to change with the game and what’s going on with it. I coached Kevin Bieksa when he was in his first year pro out of college. He was not a player, I can tell you, that many people would have believed was going to be an NHL prospect. He worked and he committed. “His personality is one that he’s a striver. And he’s done that and he’s done very well. He’s had a great career. … There’s never ever been a doubt that this guy’s not going to try. He’s going to give you everything he’s got.” As Stephens noted, Bieksa has played less than 15 minutes in each of the team’s last two contests and is skating on the third-pair. Bieksa understands the situation he is in, and as always is willing to whatever it takes to help his team: “To be a good teammate, sometimes you have to take a role that maybe you don’t like,” he said. “But if that’s what they think is in the best interests of the team, you take it, accept it and you do the best that you can.” With a plethora of NHL-caliber defenders in the organization and little cap space available to upgrade the roster elsewhere at the deadline, there have been some suggestions the team could look to move Bieksa, who has one year left at $4MM, to create added flexibility. He does possess a NMC, which adds a further layer of complexity to making a deal beyond his salary and age, however.
Injury Notes: Green, Cizikas, Huberdeau
After taking a late hit from the Anaheim Ducks’ Ryan Kesler as the game was ending last night, Red Wings’ defenseman Mike Green is “probably day to day” according to GM Ken Holland (via Brendan Savage of MLive). While the team is taking the day off, they’ll know more about his condition on Monday. The Red Wings won the game on the back of Tomas Tatar‘s first career hat trick, and Green logged his normal heavy workload. The veteran defender has 18 points in 32 games this season and is on pace for another solid year. With 413 points in 681 games, Green has been one of the most consistent offensive producers from the back end over the last decade, though he hasn’t suited up for 80+ games since 2007-08. Injuries seem to find him, and we’ll keep an eye on his status heading into Monday’s matchup against the Carolina Hurricanes.
- The Islanders announced today that Casey Cizikas will be out for a while, as he’s unable to even skate yet. The 25-year old center missed the Islanders’ last game with an upper-body injury, and it’s unclear if he’ll be back before the Christmas break. Cizikas has taken on a larger role with the team this season due to their lack of depth down the middle, playing over 14 minutes a night. With 13 points in 29 games, he was well on his way to a career year before the injury – his previous being 29 last season. In his absence, Brock Nelson moved back to center and Anders Lee moved up to the top line. Cal Clutterbuck, a longtime winger of Cizikas, was skating alongside Ryan Strome.
- Down in Florida, the return of Jonathan Huberdeau is inching closer and closer. Harvey Filakov of the Sun Sentinel tweeted out some photos of the young forward skating by himself today as the Panthers took the day off from the ice. Huberdeau has missed the entire season so far with a leg injury, after putting up a career high 20 goals and 59 points last season. As Florida struggles to a 14-13-5 record, they’ll welcome Huberdeau back with open arms and expect the former 3rd overall pick to help them push for a playoff spot down the stretch. The team could really use him, as they currently rank 23rd in goals for.